E-mail
Print
Where All-Star snubbing happens
Where I continually title my columns using the template “Where (insert NBA topic here) Happens”
By Brett Winkler
Once a year, the best NBA players in the world are supposed to face-off against one another, and not at the Bucks-Knicks showdown Saturday, but rather at this weekend’s NBA All-Star Game. The only problem is; the game doesn’t always include the best players.
While the “best” of their colleagues compete in a game that determines, once and for all, which NBA conference is superior (since simply glancing at the standings and noticing that ten Western Conference teams have winning records compared to the four or five in the East wouldn’t suffice), deserving players watch from their homes just like the average fan.
OK, maybe the average fan doesn’t watch the game. Maybe the players that aren’t in the game don’t watch it, either. The point is, some of them shouldn’t be at home to have the choice to watch the first quarter of the game and then turn it off after getting sick of all the botched alley-oop attempts to begin with.
So who should have been selected to half-ass it in this year’s All-Star Game? Don’t know? Can’t think of anybody? Well, lucky you, I’ll rattle off some names.
The East
Josh Smith, Hawks:He should be in the All-Star Game under the condition that teammate Joe Johnson gives up his spot. Since Johnson is so un-selfish...alright, that won’t happen. But Josh Smith is clearly the best player on that team.
His averages of 18 points and eight rebounds per aren’t even the ones that stand out – it’s the two steals and three blocks each contest that should have had the ballot boxes stuffed with ballots with a tiny hole punched out next to Josh Smith’s name (since they still haven’t converted All-Star ballots to Scantron quite yet).
Jose Calderon, Raptors: A recent study of UWM Post readers showed that exactly 3 percent have ever heard of this guy. When described as “T.J. Ford’s backup before Ford got hurt and everybody discovered that he was a better distributor and much, much better shooter,” that number shot up to an astounding 7 percent.
While no actual study of UWM Post readers ever took place, I’d almost bet that those results I just made up are actually higher than what the percentage would be.
After spending two years and change in backup duty, Calderon is averaging about 14 points and 10 assists as a starter, and he’s doing it with shooting percentages of 52 from the field, 44 from three-point range, and 90 at the line.
I usually hate on the Raptors because they’re the only NBA team in Canada, and that bugs me for some reason, but Calderon should be an All-Star.
Andrew Bogut, Bucks: Yea, I’m a homer, what are you going to do about it? Even though his season numbers are a modest 13 points and nine rebounds on the year, he had a stretch in January with seven consecutive double-doubles, including four straight with 20 points, and is really coming into his own.
The reason Bogut should be in is because the East doesn’t really have another center besides starter Dwight Howard. Chris Bosh is listed as such, but he plays power forward. I’m not about to let the NBA take the best player available instead of sticking to a set number of players per position at the expense of a Buck. Not without mentioning it in the “Wink and a Nod” column of the UWM Post, anyway! Take that David Stern!
Now for the lowly Western Conference...
Baron Davis, Warriors: His numbers: averaging 22 points, eight assists and carrying one team. Davis is more a victim of the plethora of point guard talent out West, with Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Brandon Roy, and I guess Allen Iverson, if you want to call him a point guard, all making the squad.
In fact, pretty much all of these players are simply left off the rosters because there just aren’t enough spots to go around. Nobody in the game isn’t deserving of the honor. Except for you, Joe Johnson. Anyways, Baron Davis is good. The End.
Deron Williams, Jazz: At guard, he gets the same raw deal as Davis. He’s averaging 19 points and almost 10 assists per contest, but the clusterfudge at point guard in the West is his downfall.
Since, like Davis, I never really watch him play and don’t know much else about him, I’ll talk more about how everybody that did make an All-Star team is deserving. Once again, that doesn’t include you, Joe Johnson. You’re shooting 40 percent – pass more!
Chris Kaman, Clippers: The Clippers are pretty terrible, so it’s hard to justify putting any of them on an All-Star team. Still, Kaman’s averaging 17 points, 14 boards and three “get the %@&$ out of here” blocks per game.
Not bad for somebody who was mis-diagnosed with ADD at a young age and treated for the disease he didn’t have for almost his entire life. That fact is completely irrelevant to the way he’s been playing (or is it?). But I just wanted to throw it out there just so everybody knows how awesome he is. I bet he would never even substitute a swear word with a bunch of symbols in his writing, because that’s lame.
As for the guys who will be playing in the All-Star Game, if Joe Johnson could just leave the room for a second, congrats on the great year to this point. Joe Johnson I told you to leave the room, that congratulations was not for you. Now get the %@&$ out of here and watch the All-Star Game this weekend.
> Comments